To assist policies on Foot-and-Mouth Disease (FMD) control in Laos and the
Mekong region, the financial impact of recent outbreaks at village and national
levels was examined. Village-level impacts were derived from recent research on
financial losses due to FMD per smallholder household and number of households
with FMD-affected livestock in the village. National-level impacts of FMD
were determined from examination of 2011–2013 FMD reported to the Lao
Department of Livestock and Fisheries (DLF), with the 2011 epidemic reported
separately due to the large number and size of outbreaks of FMD in that year.
Estimates of the national financial impact of FMD were based on (i) total FMD
financial losses at the village level and (ii) the costs of FMD responses and other
related costs at the DLF, provincial and district levels where FMD was reported,
but excluding the costs of revenue forgone. A Monte Carlo simulation was
utilized to account for likelihood of FMD over- and under-reporting. Foot-andmouth
disease was recorded in four provinces of Phonsaly, Bokeo, Xayyabouli
and Champasak in three consecutive years from 2011 to 2013. However, the FMD
epidemic in 2011 was more widely distributed and involved 414 villages in 14
provinces, with thousands of cases of morbidity in cattle and buffalo and some
mortalities. The estimated financial losses due to FMD in 2011 were USD 30 881
(23 176) at the village level and USD 13 512 291 at the national level based on
the number of villages with FMD outbreaks reported. However, when the likelihood
of FMD under-reporting was accounted for, the estimated financial losses at
the national level could potentially increase to USD 102 094 464 (52 147 261),
being almost 12% of the estimated farm gate value of the national large ruminant
herd. These findings confirm that FMD causes substantial financial impacts in
villages and to the national economy of Laos, providing justification for sustained
investments in FMD control programmes.